Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee heads home after Spartans pull out another squeaker, 70-69

(Newser) -
Raymar Morgan made a free throw with 1.8 seconds left today in St. Louis, giving fifth-seeded Michigan State a 70-69 victory over sixth-seeded Tennessee and a spot in its second straight Final Four. The Vols' Scotty Hopson tied the game with a free throw with 11.2 seconds left,...
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West Regional No. 5 seed topples K-State, will play 5 miles from campus

(Newser) -
Butler has earned a trip home for the Final Four. Gordon Hayward made a driving layup with under a minute to go, and the fifth-seeded Bulldogs used the same tenacious defense they exhibited all game in the closing seconds to knock off second-seeded Kansas State , 63-56, in the West Regional...
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No. 1 Blue Devils top Purdue; Spartans oust N. Iowa

(Newser) -
Top-seeded Duke pulled away in tonight’s second half to eliminate No. 4 Purdue, 70-57, and claim its spot in the final eight of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Blue Devils (32-5) are one of only two No. 1 seeds left in the dance—Kentucky, in the East...
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Vols upset No. 2 Ohio State; Bears bounce St. Mary's

(Newser) -
Sixth seed Tennessee upset No. 2 Ohio State tonight, winning 76-73 to secure a place in the final eight of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Volunteers (28-8) will face Michigan State in Sunday’s Midwest Regional final, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
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34-year-old led Vols for just 1 year after short NFL stint

(Newser) -
Just days after losing football coach Pete Carroll to the NFL, the University of Southern California has hired Lane Kiffin, a former Trojans assistant, away from his head job at the University of Tennessee, sources tell ESPN . Kiffin, 34, led the Volunteers to a 7-5 record in his only season...
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North Carolina junior sweeps MVP awards; Parker takes women's honor

(Newser) -
He already earned an armful, but Tyler Hansbrough took one last bit of brass Friday night. The North Carolina junior won the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball's top player, giving him essentially a sweep of the season's individual honors, including The Associated Press college basketball player of the...
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Cardinals on brink of sending Pitino to a sixth Final Four

(Newser) -
Rick Pitino improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals and has Louisville one win away from the Final Four after a 79-60 win over Tennessee last night, reports the Associated Press. Pitino mixed up his defenses throughout the game to shut down the high-powered offense of the No. 2-seeded Volunteers. The...
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Vols advance to Sweet Sixteen for second straight year

(Newser) -
Butler answered all but one of Tennessee's runs in their second round NCAA tournament matchup today. Unfortunately for the Horizon League champs (30-4), they couldn't match the Vols in overtime, and fell 76-71. Wayne Chism led Tennessee with 16 points, while Tyler Smith had 15 and JaJuan Smith 11, reports...
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Volunteers pull away late from determined Eagles

(Newser) -
American University didn't back down from No. 2 seed Tennessee today, but in the end talent overcame courage and the Volunteers pulled out a 72-57 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, reports the Washington Post. The Eagles were within a point with six minutes left, but they...
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Memphis, UCLA and Kansas other No. 1s among 65 teams invited

(Newser) -
The seedings are in and its time to fill out those brackets. North Carolina was rated the No. 1 overall seed for this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, which begins in earnest on Thursday. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed in the East region, joined by fellow top...
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Arkansas shocks No. 4 Tennessee, Georgia wins twice in one day

(Newser) -
No. 5 Kansas knew it would need a big Rush to beat Texas A&M today, and luckily for the Jayhawks, they had it. Brandon Rush scored a career-high 28 points to lead Kansas to a 77-71 win in the Big 12 semifinals, reports the Kansas City Star. The Jayhawks...
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Also, Arkansas upsets No. 17 Vanderbilt while No. 2 Memphis rolls on

(Newser) -
Chris Lofton hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to give a Tennessee a breath-taking 89-87 victory over South Carolina in an SEC quarterfinal game today. The Gamecocks couldn't answer on the return trip, ending coach Dave Odom's career on a losing note. The win kept UT's hopes for a...
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Michigan State, Indiana knocked off by unranked opponents

(Newser) -
What was a one-point game at halftime for Tennessee quickly turned into a blowout in the second half, as the Volunteers outscored South Carolina by 32 after the break for an 89-56 victory, reports The Tennessean. The win was the Vols' 32nd straight at home as they improved to 28-3...
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(Newser) -
The 4th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers fell behind by 16 points on the road against a Florida squad fighting to earn an NCAA berth—but roared back to win anyway, 89-86 behind JaJuan Smith's 23 points and Chris Lofton's 21. In the process, the Vols set a school record for victories in...
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Visiting Wildcats play tough despite missing stud frosh Patterson

(Newser) -
Top-ranked Tennessee played host to an inspired and shorthanded Kentucky team, edging the Wildcats, 63-60, and moving closer to its first regular season title in the Southeastern Conference in 41 years. There were several second-half lead changes before UT forged ahead late thanks to the play of Tyler Smith, who...
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Commodores raise record to 6-3 at home vs. top-ranked teams

(Newser) -
If your program has never been No. 1 before, the last thing you want to do is travel to a school that is 5-3 all-time at home against top-ranked teams. Tennessee got to do just that last night, and No. 18 Vanderbilt's 72-69 victory will likely knock the Vols from...
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Victory over Memphis puts Tennessee on top

(Newser) -
All these years that Pat Summitt has coached at Tennessee, the women's program has dominated the AP rankings, while the men have played second fiddle. But now Bruce Pearl's team, after its 66-62 win Saturday at Memphis, sits atop both the AP and ESPN men's college basketball polls released Monday....
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No. 2 Vols upset No. 1 Tigers in 66-62 stunner

(Newser) -
The match-up between No. 1 Memphis and No. 2 Tennessee was hyped to high heaven, and lived up to nearly every expectation, writes the Tennessean. The Volunteers relished their role of spoiler, playing hard and hungry to secure a 66-62 victory and run a perfect 45-game stretch of Tigers wins....
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Tennessee bludgeons Auburn, Butler edges Illinois-Chicago

(Newser) -
Coach John Calipari earned his 400th victory last night, as his No.1 Tigers easily defeated Tulane, 97-71. The victory continues an intimidating Memphis regular season winning streak dating back to March 2006, including 35 straight conference victories, the AP reports. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 29 to lead the Tigers' attack....
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Volunteer State gears up for 1-2 matchup

(Newser) -
The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country will square off for 38th time in NCAA history when the top-ranked Memphis Tigers meet intrastate rival Tennessee on Saturday night. Undefeated Memphis is coming off its closest game of the season, a 79-78 win against UAB. Losses by Kansas...
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